A certain level of cardiovascular fitness and strength will be required if you want to make the most out of every day on the slopes and still have the energy for the all important après ski at the end of the day.

Try to do some light exercise before you head for the slopes – a light run, walk, or even opting to take the stairs over the lift will make all the difference to your overall stamina once you arrive in resort.

There are also a couple of really easy exercises that you can do at home. Your main focus should be on your quadriceps, glutes and calf muscles and a strong core is also really important.

1. Squats

Your thighs (quads) are probably the hardest working muscles when you are skiing. Squats are one of the best, not to mention easiest ways of building strength in your legs.

Stand with your legs shoulder width apart.

Push your hips back.

Bend your knees until your thighs are parallel to the floor.

Keep your knees behind your toes.

Stand back up and repeat.

Repeat until moderate fatigue (until you feel at 80% of your maximum effort).

Top tip: If you want to make this a little harder, do the exact same motion but with a weight in each hand.

2. Squat Jump

Take the squat to the next level with a squat jump. Not only will this exercise continue to strengthen your legs, it will also help to develop explosiveness in the quads and glutes.

Start with your feet shoulder-width apart.

Squat down so your thighs are parallel to the floor, then jump high in the air.

Try to do four sets of four with a short break to catch your breath between each set.

Top tip: Try to land as softly as you can on your feet.

3. Wall squats

Wall squats are great for building endurance which will help to prevent the burning feeling in your legs on long, tough runs.

Find a clear wall, stand with your back resting against the wall.

Move down into your squat position.

Hold the position for as long as you can.

Try to repeat two to four times with a short break in between each go.

Top tip: Really push your back and backside against the wall for best results.

4. Lunges

Lunges are great not only for strength but for balance too.

Start with your feet together.

Step one leg forward and bend down so the front leg forms a right angle. Your back leg should be almost touching the floor.

Repeat until moderate fatigue (until you feel at 80% of your maximum effort).

Top tip: Keep your upper body straight, with your shoulders back and relaxed and chin up. Try to keep your core engaged at all times.

5. The Plank

You use your core muscles around your lower back and abdominal muscles a lot more than you would think when skiing, especially when you are turning or taking on more technical terrain.

Lie flat on the floor.

Rest your elbows in the floor, push up your hips and rest only on your elbows and toes.

Hold the position for 60 seconds.

Repeat the exercise on either side. Lift yourself onto one elbow and the side of your foot to work your oblique muscles.

Top tip: Do not let your hips dip. Your body should form a relatively straight line when in the air.

By far the most common injuries associated with running are plantar fasciitis, Achilles tendinopathy, ITB friction syndrome and stress fractures.

The risk of injury obviously increases with the more miles you do in your training each week, this is not rocket science, the longer you run the more steps you take so the risk of an overuse injury rises. The problem with only running is that you tend to over load areas that are already struggling, and don’t address the biomechanical issues that you might need to in order to run more efficiently and pain free.

Common issues are poor ankle mobility and calf weakness which can be linked with Achilles and plantar fascia overload. Another common issue in the foot is limitation in the big toe mobility (halux) due to bunion formation. If we make our way up to the knee the ITB can become a concern when it persistently rubs against the lateral epicondyle (bony ridge on the outside of the femur). This is commonly linked in with core and gluteal weakness (lack of hip strength).

Another common issue is maltracking of the kneecap. Commonly this is due to weakness in the quadriceps, particularly the inside muscle called the VMO.

So to help avoid a lot of these injuries runners must get to know their body well and more importantly know what their weak areas are. Key areas to address with runners is tightness in the soleous (calf muscle), lateral (outer quad), ankle mobility, first toe mobility, quadriceps strength, glute med and max strength and of course your core stability.

There are a number of training plans for preparing your body for a marathon. Preparation is key and without appropriate training, running can be an exhausting and potentially painful experience. As physiotherapists we often see runners with injuries. These can be biomechanial in nature, overuse, or simply poor training and preparation. The most common of which are Achilles Tendinopathy, Patello-femoral pain, Plantar-fasciitis, medial tibial stress syndrome (shin spints) and stress fracture of the foot or tibia.

So What Can I Do?

Make sure you include longer slow paced runs in your marathon training programme.
The ability to perform prolonged endurance exercise is strongly influenced by the amount of glycogen (glycogen = stored form of glucose/fuel source) stored in muscles. A marathon requires the largest glycogen storage capacity possible. Longer runs serve as a stimulus to the body by depleting the muscle’s glycogen stores and forcing them to rely on fat stores as a fuel source.

It is also ok to sacrifice speed for mileage, you should drop your pace for your longer runs quite significantly to a pace where you can carry out a conversation. Don’t be afraid that this will result in a loss of fitness, quite the contrary, it will allow for your muscles, tendons, ligaments and bones to adapt to the new stress you are putting on your body. As a consequence you will be less likely to experience injuries such as those mentioned above.

How Often Should I Train?

A beginner marathoner, you should ideally train 4 times a week. It is generally considered sensible to incorporate both longer runs (as mentioned previously) and interval training that incorporates speed work into your programme. On all other days you should give your body a rest from running.

Rest and recovery in your training schedules will likely result in less injury and more consistent running. The key is to stress or overload your body with a hard workout and then to allow it to recover while it adapts. To improve, a runner must progressively overload his or her system with more frequency, intensity, or duration of training efforts.

There are many different marathon training programs out there, and many different opinions on what the optimum amount of time needed to prepare is, however you should consider beginning your training at least 5 months before the race.